All Hallow’s Eve, Hallow E’en, Day of the Dead, Halloween. Whatever name you call the holiday, this night is considered to be one of the most mystical and magical during the whole year. Photo Lab team wants to tell a brief history of Halloween, pay attention to the most popular traditions and share ghastly combos with you (don’t forget to tap on any combo you like to apply it to your photo).

Halloween, also known as the festival of Samhain, starts its history from the Celtic religion. The Celts believed that there was a veil between our world and the world of the dead. According to their beliefs, in the end of summer this veil became too thin so the ghosts could get out of the Otherworld (this is the name of the world of the dead) and freely walk down the streets frightening people. And here the Jack-o-lantern’s story begins… But before we start telling you the pumpkin’s story, check out the effects below – maybe you’ll find your Halloween inspiration

The legend tells about a miser, known as Stingy Jack, who once was drinking with the Devil. Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for the drinks so he asked the Devil to turn into a coin and pay the bill. The Devil agreed to the suggestion and turned himself into a coin. Stingy Jack put the coin into his pocket next to a silver cross so the Devil couldn’t get free. Jack freed the Devil under the condition that he wouldn’t bother him during one year and wouldn’t claim his soul if Jack dies.

One year later Jack met the Devil again and offered him to climb a tree for some apples. Once the Devil did so, Jack carved a cross on the tree so the Devil couldn’t get free until the another condition was laid down: the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten years. According to the story, Jack died soon and his soul wasn’t taken neither to heaven nor to hell. So his spirit is said to freely walking with a burning coal to light its way.

People started to carve turnips (yes, originally lanterns were made of turnips!) into so-called Jack of the lantern, or Jack-o-lantern as we know it today. They cut eyes, noses and mouths and then put a candle inside to make turnips gleam. They believed that these lanterns would scare off ghosts and would keep their houses safe. By the way, look at the following combos – do you like ideas below?

While Celtic people were celebrating the festival of Samhain, villagers dressed up in costumes made of animal skins to frighten away phantom visitors. Tables with edible offerings were prepared outside the houses to calm down unwelcome spirits. Later people began to wear costumes of ghosts, witches, demons and other creatures and walked from house to house scaring others and asking for food and drinks. This tradition dates back to the Middle Ages and is said to be an antecedent of trick-or-treating. Here are some Photo Lab ideas for children’s photos

A brief history of Halloween is told, pumpkins are carved into Jack-o-lanterns, children are tricking (or treating?). We want to wish you a happy Halloween. Enjoy the night, beware of monsters and edit your photos with Photo Lab!

Oh, by the way, when black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween

]]>http://blog.pho.to/may-jack-o-lanterns-burning-bright-this-halloween/feed/0Autumn: 7 reasons to adore this season with Photo Labhttp://blog.pho.to/seven-reasons-to-adore-autumn-at-photolab/
http://blog.pho.to/seven-reasons-to-adore-autumn-at-photolab/#respondWed, 12 Sep 2018 14:53:54 +0000http://blog.pho.to/?p=5605Continue reading Autumn: 7 reasons to adore this season with Photo Lab]]>“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus

If you ask us what our favorite season of the year is, it won’t be easy to answer. Hot sunny weather, green grass, and vacation opportunities make us love summer, while New Year, Christmas and snow are the main reasons to be a winter fan. Being an allegory of new life spring gives us a breath of fresh air as well as a sense of a new beginning, decorating it with a beauty of a blossoming nature. As for autumn, we love it dearly. Need proof? How about seven reasons why we adore this season of the year at Photo Lab?..

Quick hint: click on any picture to apply an autumn effect to your photo 😉

Time for masterpieces

Poets and writers of all time were and are inspired by a special autumnal atmosphere. Watching how nature is changing and leaves are falling down, and listening to the wind bring people deep thoughts and great ideas.

Fall does not leave Photo Lab creators cold too – just have a look at this combo!

Color palette

Everything in our world is interrelated. In autumn day length becomes shorter and temperature decreases triggering the change in leaves colors. That is why we see all the hues of green, yellow, orange, brown and red at this time every year. Isn’t it amazing?

Photo Lab is hiding many colorful combos under the #autumn2018 hashtag… Here is a sneak peak:

Leaf falls

There is nothing more satisfying than stepping on crunchy leaves, right? Nature is enchanting like never before when colorful leaves are falling down… You can take a picture and turn it into a great background for your photos using our “Background Changer” effect in Smart Filters. And while you are getting ready check out this ready-to-use edit:

Cozy atmosphere

There is nothing better than a bit of coolness after hot weather, do you agree? And what about early mornings? Seeing nothing through mist except your own breath in the fresh air is truly wonderful.

We are pretty sure that everyone has their own associations with every time of a year. So do we – autumn makes us think about good books, plaid, fireplace, rocking-chair, and tea (or are you a coffee person?). Just imagining it makes us feel so warm…

By the way, do you have such atmospheric photos? Here are some appropriate effects for them you might like:

Autumn looks

Seasonal changes mean clothing changes. Autumn is the time when you start wearing scarfs, beanies, coats, gloves and boots. Did you know that maple leaves wreaths are popular in such countries as Canada, Russia and Switzerland? If there are no maples in your country and you’ve never made such a wreath, go for our “Maple Leaf Crown” effect. It looks even better than the real one, doesn’t it?

Pumpkins and Halloween

Yes, these are the most popular things associated with autumn. Pumpkins are usually carved into decorative lanterns for Halloween. People cut out eyes, nose and mouth and then put a candle inside of a pumpkin to make it shine. Looks horrendous but impressive! Open your Photo Lab app to check out our scary Halloween effects or just tap on these below 😉

Family time

Nowadays people are very busy: there are so many things to do and lots of places to visit. Sometimes we don’t even have free weekends to spend with our family. Autumn gives us this opportunity – Thanksgiving Day. This day is an example of a holiday that combines everything you love together – your family and tasty food. 😉 Thank you, autumn!

Hey, would you share your opinion on this frame with us? We think it makes a simple but wonderful gift for your beloved people.

Each time of a year is unique and magnificent. We’ve just shared our thoughts about autumn with you. And what about you? come on and share your feelings on the most colorful season. Or express it with a combo and leave the link to it in comments. 😉

P.S. don’t forget that there are lots of good ideas on how to edit your autumnal photos in Photo Lab. Browse #autumn and #autumn2018 hashtags to find and apply them all.

]]>http://blog.pho.to/seven-reasons-to-adore-autumn-at-photolab/feed/0The chronicle behind Shawn Mendes album coverhttp://blog.pho.to/shawn-mendes-album-photolab-art/
http://blog.pho.to/shawn-mendes-album-photolab-art/#commentsSat, 28 Apr 2018 15:22:29 +0000http://blog.pho.to/?p=5543Continue reading The chronicle behind Shawn Mendes album cover]]>Guess what can happen when you edit a photo of your idol with Photo Lab? Sometimes your creation becomes a cover art for his new album!

Right from the moment Shawn Mendes announced his third self-named album, the album’s cover has been the center of discussions on where the inspiration for the artwork came from. All because the artwork reminds of one of the effects inside the Photo Lab app. And the truth is our app became an important part of the story in the very beginning, when one amazing fan of one YouTube billionaire (in views currency) created a fan art with our ‘Inner Bloom’ effect.

Click on the picture to create your own cover art now

We are very proud and excited that Jessica (the girl behind @jayy_babyxo97) not only got noticed for the marvelous job she did with the help of Photo Lab app, but also inspired her favorite artist so much that he decided to use similar art for his new album’s cover art. This story is simply fantastic. As for us, it’s cool to know that we created something that provides an incredible set of easy to use tools for everyone to use. So let’s just spend more time creating cool stuff in Photo Lab and inspiring more celebrities and, of course, each other on Twitter, Instagram, and other socials.

By the way, the story would not be complete without mentioning a great artist, who actually was the first to introduce this kind of artworks – Brazil-based Marcelo Monreal.

And another cool trivia fact – did you know that Shawn Mendes wasn’t the first musician to find inspiration in our combos? Earlier this year Danny Gokey used one of our combos for his single Masterpiece. Who is going to be next? 😉

]]>http://blog.pho.to/shawn-mendes-album-photolab-art/feed/4Photo Lab is a part of the most expensive digital picturehttp://blog.pho.to/cryptopicture-and-photo-lab/
http://blog.pho.to/cryptopicture-and-photo-lab/#respondThu, 29 Mar 2018 14:27:05 +0000http://blog.pho.to/?p=5530Continue reading Photo Lab is a part of the most expensive digital picture]]>We are happy to announce that one of the most anticipated crypto projects of the year 2018 – CryptoPicture, has just gone public. You would ask what’s in it for Photo Lab, but actually, our team has got more reasons to be excited than any other team. First of all Photo Lab got its spot in the picture during presale event – you can see our logo among the purchased slots. Besides (and it makes us extremely proud) the app’s founder Victor Sazhin is actually the person behind this original initiative in crypto industry.

So what is CryptoPicture? It is not just a promising project with a creative and smart team working on it, but also the world’s first decentralized advertising space regulated by Ethereum smart contract. It is a 1 million px canvas, divided into predefined blocks set for sale. We can go on and on talking about the project, but like a saying goes the Picture is worth a thousand words, so feel free to read the whole story on the project’s page.

We have high hopes for CryptoPicture and if everything goes as expected (and risk is always involved when dealing with projects like this) it’s gonna be one of the most valuable digital picture in history. So good luck to CryptoPicture and everyone involved in bringing it to life!

]]>http://blog.pho.to/cryptopicture-and-photo-lab/feed/0Have a very joyful Easter with Photo Lab!http://blog.pho.to/easter-photo-lab/
http://blog.pho.to/easter-photo-lab/#respondThu, 29 Mar 2018 09:07:17 +0000http://blog.pho.to/?p=5488Continue reading Have a very joyful Easter with Photo Lab!]]>Easter is one of the brightest and best-loved holidays all over the world. We in Photo Lab team send you the best wishes and invite you all to remember some interesting facts about this day together.

Everybody knows that Easter is mostly celebrated at different times by Eastern and Western Christians. Historically, Western churches used the Gregorian Calendar to calculate the date of Easter and Eastern Orthodox churches used the Julian Calendar. Easter is also a movable holiday, meaning its date is not fixed in both calendars. This year Easter is on April 1st for Western Christians and April 8th for Orthodox.

Having users all around the globe means getting ready for both celebrations for us here at Photo Lab. And guess what? We have double Christmas as well – in December and then in January. On the one hand, there is a lot to take care of, but on the other – we’re glad to work twice as hard every time to create some stuff that will bring joy to everyone. Let this very post be the starting point of our great Easter hunt for holiday stories and, of course, new cool combos!

Hippity-hoppity-hop

We all love Easter Bunny, but do you know where he came from? The idea of the Easter Bunny giving candies and eggs is said to have appeared in Germany during the middle ages, with the first written mention of this tradition dating back to the 16th century. As far as the story goes, the Easter Bunny had clothes and carried colored eggs in a basket, along with candies and toys to bring to good children. Seems like one guy does the same stuff in winter, huh? Now Easter Bunny is one of the most famous symbols of Easter – almost 90 million chocolate bunnies are made yearly. By the way, how do you eat them? If you don’t start with the ears, feel unique, as almost 80% of people do it this way.

The hunt is on!

It’s already Easter Sunday and Easter Bunny has hidden something for us – it’s time for egg hunt! It’s a fun tradition during which Easter eggs are hidden in various places to find. They may be filled with candy, or a prize may be awarded at the end of the hunt. Nothing can be funnier on Easter Sunday.

ColorMania

But wait, there’s something interesting happening on the day before Easter. It’s eggs’ coloring time! There are sooooo many ways to show your creativity. Turn eggs into disco balls, flowers, Faberge masterpieces, unicorns, little bunnies… Or maybe you prefer minimalism of Pantone?

Life is sweet

And here’s to all having sweet tooth. Easter is second in candy holiday sales only to Halloween. In fact, some years people buy more candy the week before Easter than the week before Halloween. Hurry up and buy your beloved jelly beans and chocolate eggs (and bunnies, of course)!

Follow the hatter

Are you in New York? Don’t forget to put your craziest hat on and join the Easter parade. Each year on Easter, celebrants don festive finery and show off their very best bonnets along Fifth Avenue. It is a New York City tradition that stretches back to the 1870s.

With the best wishes…

It’s a good tradition to send pretty Easter cards to your relatives and friends. It all started a long time ago and became worldwide in the end of 19th century. As the time goes by, the way cards look changes. More than a hundred years ago people had been sending each other cute postcards with bunnies, flowers and children pictured on them. Now almost everyone prefer sending e-cards – it’s fast and gives more ways to express feelings and emotions. Photo Lab is one of the tools that let you create exclusive cards with favorite photos and send them to your relatives and friends.

May you feel the bright, joyful blessings God has to offer you during this Easter holiday!

]]>http://blog.pho.to/easter-photo-lab/feed/0Luck O’ the Irish on St. Patrick’s Dayhttp://blog.pho.to/photo-lab-st-patricks-day/
http://blog.pho.to/photo-lab-st-patricks-day/#respondThu, 15 Mar 2018 10:06:25 +0000http://blog.pho.to/?p=5401Continue reading Luck O’ the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day]]>March 17 is the day when everyone is Irish. Photo Lab can’t miss a chance to celebrate it. Put your hat on and let’s get green together!

St. Patrick’s Day is being celebrated worldwide. Dublin has a parade that attracts hundreds of thousands of people, while in Chicago the river is dyed green for a few hours. Even Moulin Rouge in Paris is not red this day. How can we let this huge celebration pass by?

Everybody knows that on St. Patrick’s day we need to wear green clothes and ginger wings and drink Irish beer. But there are some interesting facts that are not widely known. Photo Lab team decided to share them with you.

When somebody starts talking about St. Patrick’s day, it’s hard to imagine anything but loads of green. But for a long time green wasn’t an official color of the celebration. The original color of St. Patrick’s Day was blue but it started to change in the 17th century. Green became a symbol of Ireland and was put on the triple-color flag. Since then it is an official color of the country and its most famous holiday. Ireland is also known as the “Emerald Isle” because of its green landscape.

Moreover, green is a color of one of the most famous symbols of the day – shamrock. It’s important to use a three-leaf shamrock, not four-leaf. According to some stories, St. Patrick used the three-leaf clover to teach people in Ireland about Christianity. He said the three leaves illustrated the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit of the Holy Trinity. But don’t be afraid to miss your luck without the fourth leaf – Luck o’ the Irish will be with you this day, no matter what you do or wear.

And what the St. Patrick’s Day without a green beer! These days it’s one of the most important parts of the celebration. But more than a hundred years ago it was a liquid poison made with something called “wash blue,” an iron powder used for whitening clothes (seems safe, huh?). Now food coloring are used, but they’re absolutely harmless and still blue.

Hope your day is as rich as gold and as colorful as a rainbow. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

In addition to Photoshop our special Template Tool is required. It’s a Photoshop add-on that allows anyone to create their own templates for Photo Lab and let everyone use them. See your ideas in action – read about templates, turn your PC on, roll the dice and win.

As the title says it’s not a one-time event, but a competition held weekly. So don’t be afraid to miss the deadline – new contest gets started every Monday. If you don’t feel like sending your combos now, do it next week.

]]>http://blog.pho.to/photo-lab-app-designers-call/feed/0Ho, Ho, Holiday Greetings from Photo Lab!http://blog.pho.to/holiday-greetings-from-photo-lab-2017/
http://blog.pho.to/holiday-greetings-from-photo-lab-2017/#commentsSun, 24 Dec 2017 21:20:44 +0000http://blog.pho.to/?p=5359Continue reading Ho, Ho, Holiday Greetings from Photo Lab!]]>The most wonderful time of the year is here. While you’re getting ready to celebrate and enjoy the festive atmosphere of the Winter Holidays (well, at least we’re sure you know how to create the most unique Christmas cards, don’t you?), we’re using this opportunity to remember 2017 and to say that you, our amazing users, made it special!

We’re so lucky to have you as Photo Lab app users (and our blog readers) and look forward to bringing even more joy with our app to you in the upcoming year.

But let’s remember what we’ve already achieved together:

New backgrounds, effects and templates were added in every update (by the way, what’s your favorite 2017 Photo Lab effect?);

Our very own ‘Smoky Cloud’ effect became Facebook and Instagram trend;

With the help of our users’ creativity Photo Lab 3.0 brought the new approach to the app content (we couldn’t even imagine you would fall for combos so much and enjoy every masterpiece created);

Even Iron Man couldn’t resist the temptation to edit his portrait with one of Photo Lab’s effect:

Well, it’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? And it’s all happened because of the unstoppable creativity of our amazing users. So let’s keep inspiring each other in the upcoming year, sharing our innovative vision and incredible emotions together!

We wish you a very Happy Holiday Season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year!

It’s been just one week since Google’s announcement and we are proud to share our new achievements with you. On December 07 Apple also revealed 2017’s most popular apps, games, music, books and more. Among many other first-rate apps and developers, Photo lab has got noticed in the following categories and countries:

Of course, it’s a great pleasure to know that our tech-based efforts are rewarded. And, boy, we can tell you that no one works harder than our R&D team – long days and even some sleepless nights, to roll out those ‘smart’ features you love the most on time and fully-functioning.

But at the same time, it is a new responsibility we are glad to take on ourselves – we have to be better and continue surprising you on the course of a year (and years to come). We consider it as a challenge that should motivate us to do an even better job.

]]>http://blog.pho.to/photo-labs-in-app-stores-trends-2017/feed/77Yay! Photo Lab is the best app of 2017 according to Googlehttp://blog.pho.to/best-android-app-of-2017-goes-to-photo-lab/
http://blog.pho.to/best-android-app-of-2017-goes-to-photo-lab/#commentsSun, 10 Dec 2017 16:23:17 +0000http://blog.pho.to/?p=5304Continue reading Yay! Photo Lab is the best app of 2017 according to Google]]>And it feels absolutely crazymazing!

Google Play revealed the winners of the Play Awards of 2017 on Friday, December 01, and we are very proud to say that Photo Lab has become the best app of the year.

The impact of Photo Lab users is truly huge. Every day hundreds of thousands of people choose to use the app for a variety of photo editing needs, with hundreds spending their precious time giving us stars (the average rating has almost never been lower than 4.5 ), leaving reviews (more often good than bad) and emailing all kinds of feedback to us. That all gives us food for thought, helps to improve the app, detect and fix minor and major bugs on time, and even makes us roll back new features sometimes (C’est la vie ). It’s only natural that we see you more as a part of the team and would like to share this victory with you.

So CHEERS! and let’s keep the ball rolling by spreading the word about this terrific news!